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Michelle Rothstein(below, left) is the Artistic Director ofBreast Fest. With the festival almost a week away, she took time out to answer a few questions that I (maybe you) have about this emerging event﻿ .donna g:With all the film festivals that Toronto has to offer, why add another festival to the scene and why a film festival about breast cancer?Michelle Rothstein:There are over 70 different film festivals in Toronto and I think for good reason. The past century has shown us the true power of the moving image. We have now had a number of generations raised in a movie theatre, or watching films at home. Using film to tell stories, different perspectives, to showcase diversity, to provide a window into others lives is extremely powerful. At Breast Fest we are doing the same thing but to educate and create awareness around breast cancer. We use these films, our speaker series and other art forms, to connect people to our cause, inspire dialogue and facilitate learning. Using a darkened…

LUCHADORAS by PEGGY ADAM is our next Book Club selection. Our on air discussion date: Sat. Nov. 17, 1-2pm on CIUT 89.5 FM or listen at www.ciut.fm

Joining me in studio will be blogger, HeidyMo (http://hyemusings.blogspot.ca/) and Alan Harnum (Toronto Public Library). Read along with us (mature readers)! This graphic book is available in the Toronto Public Library or at Comic/Graphic Book outlets.

Recommended for Mature Readers.Chosen as part of the 2007 Sélection Officielle at the Angouléme International Comics Festival.
Since 1993, a grievous shadow has been cast over the Mexican border-city of Juárez. A tragic symbol of misogynist violence, Cuidad Juárez has been the scene of hundreds of feminicidios —the abduction and brutal murders of female victims aged between 12 and 22.
Referred to as ‘Las Muertas de Juárez’, many of these victims are found tortured, sexually abused, or disfigured …

Happy 40th Anniversary Toronto Consort!
Last night was my first experience seeing the Toronto Consort. They kicked off their 40th Anniversary season with The Tudors: music from the Fairfax Manuscript, Henry VIII Manuscript, music recorded for the television series (The Tudors) as well as music their new double-CD All in a Garden Green: A Renaissance Collection, as well as an earlier CD, The Queen.
The first half of the evening included a lovely solo, Madame d'amours from soprano, Katherine Hill, backed by Alison Melville on flute, and Terry McKenna on baroque guitar. David Fallis, Paul Jenkins and John Pepper performed a wonderful a capella of Ah Robyn, a song best known as being performed by Feste in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. The only non-vocal piece in this first half was a splendid collaboration on Consort VIII & If love now reigned (music by Henry VII) featuring viol, recorder and baroque guitar. The Tallis choir joined Toronto Consort on the last sections before int…

CIUT's Fall Fundraising Campaign is in full effect and I've got a few goodies to sweeten the pot if you donate to The More the Merrier on or before October 20th. Ways to Donate:Call: 416-946-700 Toll Free 1-888-204-8976On line (secure server): http://www.ciut.fm/ (be sure to include The More the Merrier)In Person at 7 Hart House Circle (3rd Floor

What You Could Win by Donating to The More the Merrier!BOND, JAMES BOND! I've got several pairs film of tickets to Shaken, Not Stirred: Bond on Film. See Classic Bond films on the big screen at the TIFF Bell Lightbox at King and John Street. Value $24/pair (courtesy of www.tiff.net).

In Stories We Tell, director, Sarah Polley interviews her family and friends to learn more about her mother, Diane, who died of cancer when Sarah was eleven years old. Polley plays cinematic detective, drawing forth stories from each subject and tracking down information about Diane's roles as wife, mother, and actor. Through these stories, a portrait develops of a charming, vivacious, hummingbird of a woman with an infectious laugh and personality. As the interviews ripple beyond Sarah's relatives to friends and acquaintances, a mysterious side of Diane also surfaces. What is the real "truth" about Diane?
Just as you can never really see yourself from the back, you can never really see the truth. Others might tell you what you look like, and you can see yourself in mirrors, but a constant 360 is never possible, and that is simply how life manifests itself--especially when trying to understand the truth about someone else's reality. In searching to understand her…

According to this revealing documentary, "every 30 minutes, a farmer in India kills himself". What is behind this epidemic of suicides in the largest farmer community in the world? Director, Micha X. Peled investigates this growing crisis by taking us into the world of cotton farmer Ram Krishna Kopulwar, forced into debt buy purchasing genetically modified seeds, and Manjusha Ambarwar, an eighteen year-old budding journalist who has taken the initiative in investigating why farmers in her village continue to kill themselves. Monsanto, the name behind the Bt cotton now growing in many Indian villages, has their point view represented in the film, but as scientist Dr. Vandana Shiva points out, Monsanto has a gridlock on cotton in India: they have to wealth to advertise the seeds to illiterate farmers, they control the distribution of the seeds in the stores, and they control the foreign trade with…

The 13th Annual Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival kicked off tonight with the world premiere of Lost Riversat the TIFF Bell Lightbox. In attendance for the introduction and Q & A following the sold-out screening were director Caroline Bâcle, producer Katerina Soukup, and several members of the crew and cast. The film documents the history of buried rivers and shows the environmental benefits of "daylighting", unearthing and returning these rivers to their previous functions. Over the course of three years, the filmmakers followed "drainers" in Brescia, Italy, London, England, Soel, Korea, Yonkers, USA, and Toronto and Montreal, Canada. "Drainers", so-called because they actively and often times, illegally, pry open manhole covers to explore underground river drains and sewers, are unsung navigators and keepers of history. Only in Brescia, Italy have drainers been legally acknowledged for their mapping of ancient waterways and legitimized…

You know what I like about Musicians in Ordinary? Everything. They're talented, funny, and they unselfishly share the stage with equally gifted guests. Watching lutenist, John Edwards and soprano, Hallie Fishel perform tonight's programme, His Perfections Like Sunbeams, with guests Christopher Verrette, and Justin Haynes, I remain impressed with their abilities and the intimate mood they continually create at their concerts.
Tonight's programme was a tribute to Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales (1594 - 1612) with music composed by the musicians he welcomed into his household. Hallie has an embracing soprano with spot-on diction, no matter what language she sings in. English pronunciation has changed a lot over the centuries, add the high vocals in the singing mix, and it can be tricky to follow, but not so when listening to Hallie; she's done her homework and it shows. With her, the voice is always charming and captivating without being simpering or too precious, as sh…